The rain on Raijin Island didn't wash away blood; it just made it spread faster.
In the valley below the ridges, the lightning flashed, illuminating a scene of absolute carnage. The twenty armed pirates—veterans of the New World who sailed under the banner of the infamous Silver Axe—were learning a harsh lesson.
They were used to fighting Marines. They were used to fighting other pirates. They were not used to fighting a man who wouldn't die and a miser who treated their organs like currency.
"Die! Just die!" a pirate screamed, emptying his flintlock into Hidan's chest.
Hidan stumbled back, looking down at the smoking holes in his Akatsuki cloak. "You ripped it! Do you know how hard it is to sew this material?"
The pirate's eyes bulged as Hidan grinned, blood dripping from his chin. Hidan lunged, his red scythe hooking around the pirate's leg.
"A sacrifice for Jashin!"
Snap.
Meanwhile, near the scavengers' ship—a sleek, iron-reinforced sloop designed for rough waters—Kakuzu was conducting business.
The scavenger captain, a man with a silver helmet and a heavy axe, was pinned against the hull. Black threads, hard as steel wire, were wrapped around his throat, lifting him off the ground.
"You... you're a monster," the captain choked out. "Silver Axe... will kill you..."
Kakuzu stared at the man with cold, green eyes. "Silver Axe? Does he have a high bounty?"
"He's... a legend..."
"Legends don't pay the bills," Kakuzu muttered. "But your heart... it sounds strong."
The black threads on Kakuzu's back writhed. A mask—a white porcelain face with a demonic beak—emerged from his shoulder.
"I am currently operating at a deficit," Kakuzu explained calmly. "My partner is an idiot, my summoner is a child, and our captain is a suicidal alcoholic. I need insurance."
The captain screamed as Kakuzu's hand plunged into his chest.
Two Hours Later.
Ren woke up to the smell of cooking meat.
He groaned, sitting up. His ribs felt like they were taped together, and his head throbbed. He was back in the cave, sheltered from the relentless lightning.
"You're awake," Kaido's voice rumbled.
Ren looked over. The future Yonko was sitting by a fire, roasting a massive leg of some unfortunate island beast.
"Did I... did I do it?" Ren asked, rubbing his temple.
"You dodged," Kaido said, tearing a chunk of meat off the bone. "Once. Out of fifty tries. It was pathetic."
Ren's shoulders slumped.
"But," Kaido continued, chewing thoughtfully, "it was Haki. You tapped into it. Now you just need to stop thinking so much. You fight like a scholar. You need to fight like a beast."
Kaido tossed a smaller chunk of meat at Ren. Ren caught it, the grease burning his fingers slightly.
"Eat. Your 'summons' are back."
Ren looked toward the cave entrance. Kakuzu walked in, dragging a heavy sack behind him. Hidan followed, limping slightly but looking incredibly pleased with himself.
"Ren!" Hidan waved his scythe. "We got presents! And by presents, I mean corpses!"
Ren winced. "Hidan, please don't call them that."
Kakuzu dropped the sack in front of Kaido. It clinked with the sound of gold and jewels.
"Liquidation complete," Kakuzu reported. "The scavengers were part of Silver Axe's fleet. We secured their ship. It is functional, though I had to clean the blood off the deck."
"Silver Axe?" Kaido raised an eyebrow. "That old hack made it out of God Valley too? Worororo! Maybe I should pay him a visit."
"We are not visiting anyone," Kakuzu interrupted sharply. "The ship is small. We need supplies. And I have acquired... replacements."
Kakuzu opened his cloak.
Ren stared. On Kakuzu's back, where there had been emptiness before, two masks now rested. One looked like a wind demon, the other like a fire demon.
"You took their hearts," Ren whispered.
"They were strong hearts," Kakuzu said indifferently. "Now I can use Wind and Fire style again. It will reduce the strain on your chakra when I fight."
Ren looked at the stitched scars on Kakuzu's chest. He realized then that he wasn't playing a game. He was leading a crew of nightmares. If he wasn't careful, these monsters would eat him alive—metaphorically or literally.
"Good work," Ren said, forcing his voice to be steady. He looked at Kaido. "We have a ship. We have money. Do we leave?"
Kaido stood up, his head brushing the ceiling of the cave. He walked to the entrance and looked out at the storm.
"Not yet," Kaido said. "The storm is still raging. And you..." He turned to look at Ren. "You are still weak."
Kaido pointed his club at the lightning-struck valley.
"We stay until the log pose sets. That's two weeks. In those two weeks, Ren, you aren't going to dodge."
Ren gulped. "I'm not?"
"No," Kaido grinned. "You're going to learn to hit me."
The Montage of Pain.
The next two weeks were a blur of agony and adrenaline.
Day 3:
Ren tried to use his Ninja tools—kunai and shuriken. Kaido caught a kunai with his teeth and crunched it into metal filings.
"Toys!" Kaido roared. "Use your fists! Use your will!"
Day 7:
Kakuzu took over the mornings.
"Your chakra control is sloppy," Kakuzu criticized, watching Ren try to walk up a vertical metal pillar. "You waste energy with every step. Efficient usage is profit. Waste is debt."
Kakuzu fired a Wind Style: Pressure Damage blast at Ren.
Ren fell off the pillar.
Day 10:
Hidan forced Ren to spar.
"Come on, Ren-chan! Don't look at the scythe, look at me!"
Hidan was faster than Ren, but he was reckless. Ren learned that Hidan always left openings because he didn't care about getting hit.
Ren managed to land a chakra-enhanced kick on Hidan's ribs.
"Ow!" Hidan laughed. "That actually tickled! Again!"
Day 14:
The storm was breaking.
Ren stood on the blackened beach, shirtless. His body was covered in bruises, but his muscles were tighter, his stance grounded.
Kaido stood opposite him.
"Last chance," Kaido said. "Show me you belong in the New World."
Ren took a deep breath. He channeled chakra, not just to his feet, but circulating it through his arms. He visualized the armor he wanted to create. The invisible armor of Haki.
He didn't have full Armament Haki yet. But he had the seed of it.
Ren charged.
Kaido didn't move. He let Ren come.
Ren screamed, pouring every ounce of his spirit into his right fist. He felt the chakra mix with his willpower, creating a faint, flickering black coating over his knuckles.
IMPACT.
Ren's fist struck Kaido's abs.
A small shockwave kicked up the dust around them.
Kaido didn't budge. He didn't even flinch. It was like punching a mountain.
But...
Kaido looked down. On his skin, right where Ren had punched, there was a tiny, almost invisible red mark.
Silence reigned on the beach.
Ren panted, his hand throbbing in pain. "Did I... scratch you?"
Kaido stared at the mark. Then he looked at Ren.
"Wororororo!"
Kaido laughed, a sound of genuine delight. He slapped Ren on the back, sending the boy face-first into the sand.
"You actually did it! You used Ryuo! Just a drop, but it was there!"
Kaido picked Ren up by the back of his pants.
"Pack your bags, Gravewalker! We're going to Wano!"
The New World Sea.
The stolen ship—now crudely painted with a symbol that looked like a mix of a skull and a demon—cut through the waves.
Ren stood at the helm. He felt different. Heavier, but sharper.
[System Update]
[Quest Complete: The Path of Power.]
[Reward: Armament Haki (Stage 1: Hardening) Unlocked.]
[Chakra Capacity: Chunin Level.]
[New Summon Slot Unlocked.]
Ren looked at the notification. A new summon.
He had a tank (Hidan). He had a blaster/treasurer (Kakuzu).
He needed something else. Wano was a land of samurai and secrets. He needed an infiltrator. Or perhaps... a tactician.
"Ren," Kakuzu called out from the deck, where he was counting berries again. "We are approaching a fog bank. My charts say this is the Florian Triangle route to the Red Line, but we are cutting North."
"We're going to the New World directly," Ren said. "Kaido knows the route."
"Hey!" Hidan yelled from the crow's nest. "Ship ahead! And it looks weird! It's got... lips?"
Ren squinted. A ship with lips?
"Big Mom," Ren realized, his blood running cold.
A massive ship, singing with a homie's soul, emerged from the fog. The flag of the Big Mom Pirates waved in the wind.
Kaido walked out of the cabin, a bottle of sake in hand. He looked at the ship.
"Linlin," Kaido grumbled. "She tracks fast."
"Is she hostile?" Ren asked, his hand drifting to his pouch.
"With her? Who knows," Kaido shrugged. "She gave me my fruit. She thinks she owns me."
Kaido jumped onto the railing.
"Ren! Kakuzu! Hidan! Look alive! If this goes south, we're at war with the Big Mom Pirates!"
Ren sighed, opening his System menu.
If we fight Big Mom, I need fire. Lots of it.
[Summon Selection Available.]
[> Itachi Uchiha (Unavailable - Insufficient Sacrifice)]
[> Sasori of the Red Sand]
[> Deidara]
Ren's finger hovered over Deidara.
"Art is an explosion," Ren muttered. "Let's hope Linlin likes fireworks."